Complete Northeast Explorer

Highlights

• Kaziranga wildlife safaris
• Shillong, Cherrapunjee & Dawki
• Living root bridges & Mawlynnong
• Tawang Monastery via Sela Pass
• Guwahati river cruise

Day by day

1. Day 1Arrival Guwahati

   Kamakhya Temple to begin — up on its hill, one of the most visited shrines in the region — then out onto the Brahmaputra as the light goes and the far bank turns to a low dark line. Overnight in Guwahati.

2. Day 2Guwahati - Kaziranga

   East to Kaziranga through tea country, with a cultural programme in the evening. Overnight in Kaziranga.

3. Day 3Kaziranga Safaris

   Elephant and jeep safaris across two different ranges, one at dawn from the back of an elephant, one in the afternoon by vehicle. Overnight in Kaziranga.

4. Day 4Kaziranga - Shillong

   West again through Guwahati and up into the hills to Shillong, where the temperature drops and the pines start. Overnight in Shillong.

5. Day 5Shillong Sightseeing

   Shillong Peak for the view over the plateau, Elephant Falls dropping through the rock in stages, and the Don Bosco Museum, which is a genuinely good introduction to all eight states. Overnight in Shillong.

6. Day 6Shillong - Cherrapunjee

   Cherrapunjee doing what it does best: Nohkalikai Falls plunging into a jade pool, the Seven Sisters strung across the cliff face opposite, and the Arwah Caves with fossils set into the limestone. Overnight in Cherrapunjee.

7. Day 7Root Bridge Trek - Mawlynnong - Dawki

   Down through wet forest to the Double Decker Root Bridge — two tiers of living rubber roots trained across a stream over generations — then Mawlynnong, and boating on the impossibly clear Umngot at Dawki. Overnight in Shillong.

8. Day 8Shillong - Guwahati - Bomdila

   Down to Guwahati and north into Arunachal Pradesh towards Bomdila, climbing all afternoon. Permits required, and handled. Overnight in Bomdila.

9. Day 9Bomdila - Dirang

   Bomdila Monastery in the morning, prayer flags over a valley that runs for miles, then the short hop to Dirang. Overnight in Dirang.

10. Day 10Dirang - Tawang via Sela Pass

    Over Sela Pass — high, open, snow at the margins, wind that arrives from nowhere — with a stop at Jaswant Garh, then down into Tawang. Overnight in Tawang.

11. Day 11Tawang Monastery & Madhuri Lake

    Tawang Monastery, one of the largest anywhere, its courtyard hanging above a valley that falls away for miles. Then Madhuri Lake, still and cold between bare mountains. This is what you came this far for. Overnight in Tawang.

12. Day 12Departure

    The return towards Guwahati begins, with a day in hand if you would rather not rush it, for onward travel.

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